During the visit to the Stavropol region, President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were in Rassvet, an agricultural enterprise. There was a man named Aydyn Shirinov in the accompanying group. He is the chairman of Sady Stavropoliya board of directors.

Aydyn Shirinov, the chairman of Sady Stavropoliya board of directors, often referred to as a “raider and crime lord” by locals, accompanied Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev during their visit to the Stavropol region, Dozhd reported.

The top public officials visited the Rassvet agricultural enterprise in Stavropol with Shirinov in the accompanying group. According to Oksana Borisova, a public figure, she “was shocked” to see that a person with “criminal past” was walking next to them. “To be honest, it was even more surprising after we gave them so much evidence,” said Borisova. She noted that Shirinov was expelled from the United Russia party in 2007 for non-fulfillment of election promises.

The Stavropol Reporter published a series of articles on Shirinov, including evidence that he had started his business with a shell game in the airport after serving prison time for a theft. One of the articles says that Shirinov has not even had secondary education, because he dropped out for the theft of a collection of cups the school had won at competitions.

Stavropol Reporter also features a story about shareholders' signatures that were falsified in SHP KVM-Agro, the organization of Shirinov’s mother. Residents of the Rozanovka village allegedly wanted to leave the organization with their shares, but the businessman’s assistants forged their signatures and signed lease agreements for the next 15 years. Four years after the conflict, the district head claimed most of the villagers agreed to Shirinov’s terms.